For Forever
by Mama Bunny
Summary: (DQXI) A relationship blossoms as the Luminary's party grows closer to taking on the Dark One.
1. Chapter 1

_For Forever_

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Quest XI!

Notes: I know the Luminary has no canon name, so my name for him here is the name I use when I play. Lucien is my Luminary.

Warnings: OC as avatar, OCxcanon, yaoi, cursing, all my usual warnings

This is dedicated to my husband, with whom I share a particular OTP. He has encouraged me to embrace this in all art forms, so. This one goes out to you, dear. It's odd to ship our favorite characters as a couple, but I've come to completely embrace it. I hope I'm able to do the relationship justice.

 _ **Massive story spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**_

 _FIC START!_

-Part One-

The moon hung amid the clouds when the Luminary Lucien stopped by Heliodor for what seemed like the millionth time on his journey. The party gathered several rare items requested by the townsfolk over days of adventuring and battling monsters across the world. Each party member took a treasure to someone and brought back the rewards to the inn. Lucien and his party of gathered companions sat around a table full of food to have a break. Everyone was more than worn out from being on the go constantly.

"We've been at this for a week, at least," Veronica said, her attitude on full display as she took her seat. She was the last one to sit down, and everyone present began to eat the moment she was there. "When are we going to do something for us instead?"

"Veronica," Serena scolded her sister as she shook her head with disapproval. "You shouldn't be so selfish. The fact that we've been able to go on this journey at all has been a gift in and of itself when you think about it."

"I suppose it's better than going back Arboria and being showered with constant praise for assisting the Luminary on his journey while I'm trying to continue with my magical studies," Veronica muttered, rolling her eyes. She reached up to pick up her fork and shove it into the slab of meat on her plate.

"I apologize on my outspoken sister's behalf," Serena said tiredly to everyone else, bowing her head politely.

Most of the party just let out a knowing sigh. They'd been questing with the sisters so long that this banter between them was nothing new and was almost expected by now. Lucien couldn't help thinking about events in the past. He ate slower than everyone else, not paying much attention to the conversation going on around him. How, with Hendrik's help, they were able to find each party member that had joined him on the quest to reach the World Tree. How each member of the team came to terms with things, and Serena encouraging everyone to return to Arboria, because she was convinced that Veronica was there. Lucien closed his eyes for a moment. As Veronica was laughing loudly here, teasing Erik about his manners, and everyone else joining in the way they always had before, he was on the verge of tears as he remembered the sight of her body lying against the tree in the Garden of Repose.

"Darling?" came Sylvando's voice from across the table, snapping the Luminary from his vision. "Oh, honey, are you okay?" Lucien noticed quickly that everyone around the table was looking at him with concern. He only nodded to assure them he was fine, but the circus performer was not entirely convinced. "You know that the little dear is only teasing. She doesn't really mean the things she says, right?"

"No one takes her taunting seriously," Jade added. "You know you shouldn't either."

Lucien nodded again. He knew she didn't mean to be so abrasive, and he told them so. She was simply headstrong and determined, which was not inherently a bad thing. He smiled as he stood up from the table. He told everyone he was ready to go to bed, even though he had barely eaten anything. He pushed in his chair quickly, heading to the room of the inn where he knew Erik would be joining him for the night in a bit. They had stayed here so many times that they didn't even have to discuss the sleeping arrangements. He locked the door behind him, sitting on the bed, and finally couldn't hold the tears back any more. He couldn't get the visions out of his head no matter how much fun they shared traveling the countryside as one big makeshift family. He buried his face in his hands, crying with all the force in his body.

The party had gathered all around the other side of the door almost immediately, hearing the desperate sobs through the walls. All were worried over their party leader.

"What could have the laddie like this?" Rab asked, running his fingers through his fluffy white mustache as he was thinking.

"He always puts on a calm face, but we never know what's going through his mind," Erik thought aloud, leaning up against the wall.

"The poor dear has been through a lot," Sylvando added. "Perhaps we should leave him with his feelings. Just trying to instantly make it go away is not the proper way to bring smiles back to anyone's face." He pursed his lips as he thought about it, remembering how after he ran away from home, all he did was cry until he picked himself up out of his depression and did his best to keep his word to his beloved Papi. He remembered how a few of the circus members tried to force him to be happy, and all it did was make him that much more guilty. He closed his eyes, thinking about that moment when he resolved to do things on his own to become the Knight in Smiling Armor. He knew more than anyone that smiles could not be forced. They had to be genuine.

"We just need to make sure that we are all open-hearted when Lucien is ready to talk," Serena said. "Come on, sister. I believe we should retire for the night."

"Standing here in the hallway won't do anything aside from make it harder for other inn patrons to move around," Veronica agreed. Together they wandered over to the small room reserved for them and closed the door gently behind them.

Jade tapped Sylvando on the shoulder as Rab headed down to the room across from where the twins were staying. "You know, you're far more insightful than I gave you credit for, Sylvando. I immediately thought you would be breaking in there and trying to tickle him with your feathers or something."

"Oh, honey," Sylvando giggled. "Don't tempt me. As much as I love a good tickle, that's not what he needs right now."

"Fair enough," Jade spun around, heading back to the room she shared with Rab.

Erik closed his eyes as he leaned on that wall. Lucien was still crying. The Luminary had grown into being his best friend over the course of their journey, and he had no idea how to fix any of this. It ached in the core of his heart. He slid down the wall, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Erik, sweetie, if you want, you can room with me," Sylvando offered. "You don't have to sit there on the floor like that."

"I'll be fine," Erik answered. "I'll wait until Lucien is ready, and when he is, I'll be right here to talk to him. Whatever it is... as much as he's helped me with everything, I feel as if I need to help him, too."

"Such a good friend you are," Sylvando let out an enthusiastic squeal and clapped his hands. "Oh, all right. If you put it that way. I'll leave the door unlocked and you're more than welcome to come and get me if you need me." He turned to leave the thief there alone. Part of him wanted to stay there and help just the same, but he understood that those two were closer than he was with either of them. It wouldn't have been right to interject himself between them. He made his way to his room and sat on his bed, thinking about all sorts of things. He pulled his glamorous feathers off, laying them off on a nightstand so they wouldn't get crushed under his weight while sleeping. As he started to slide off his tights, he noticed some activity going on down below his inn room's window. He went over to it, noticing a few men in Heliodorian armor standing in front of the great Sir Hendrik. As if they were in some sort of opposition? Sylvando reached to creak the door open just a tiny bit.

"Sir Hendrik," one of the knights said loudly, putting his hands up. "You can't expect us to let you do this."

"We should not honor a traitor," another grunted.

"Sir Jasper... oh what am I doing, using that title for him?" The third said, frustrated at himself. "He doesn't deserve anything. Not a memorial, not a-"

The mighty Hendrik pushed through them all with his free hand, his long lavender hair flowing behind him as his three knights watched as he went on. Sylvando remembered very clearly those two orphan boys that had been sent to Puerto Valor to train under his papi, Don Rodrigo. What happened at the World Tree couldn't have been forseen by anyone. Jasper, respected as one of the twin eagles of Helidodor, had consorted with the Dark One. He found it incredibly hard to believe that someone like Jasper would turn against everyone like that. Hendrik was an honorable child and that never changed, and Sylvando could never see that changing at all. He watched Hendrik walk along an alley alone, and then looked up at the sky, where the full moon was shining above. At one point, all three of them had made an oath to each other under the moon light. He decided to pull his tights back up his legs. If he wasn't going to be able to help out the Luminary with his troubles, at least he could help his childhood classmate with his. That man was in desperate need of a smile.

* * *

Hendrik stopped in the middle of a darkened alley, turning into a place that was nothing but shadows. The knights on watch in this area stayed far from him. He radiated an aura that told everyone that stood close to him that he wished to be alone. After walking through shadows for a while, he came to a tiny little garden with a blank gravestone that seemed more silver than gray in the moonlight. King Carnelian did not wish to honor Japser with even a name upon the grave, but Hendrik could not let the memory of his childhood best friend fade away. They had shared everything together, from their schoolings to their meals, to their punishments when they had their few childish mischeveous moments. He pulled out a few flowers the shame bright shade as Jasper's blonde hair and placed them in front of the gravestone. He kneeled before it, taking in a deep breath. As he wondered what could have driven the man that inspired him to be the best he could be, the light of the moon that fell upon the grave was blocked out by a shadow.

"If you are here to scold me, I will not hear of it," Hendrik growled, not moving from his spot. "You will leave me."

"Heavens no, sweetie, I would never think of doing that," came the cheerful voice of Sylvando behind him. "Even if the rest of the world will forget him, you should remember your amigo, no? Mourning is healthy."

When Hendrik turned his head, he found Sylvando bowing before the grave with him. "Why would you say..." He found this behavior more than puzzling. "Jasper followed you all, tried to kill the Luminary. Why-"

"I had immense respect for him, all things considered," Sylvando answered, putting aside his flamboyant manner of speech suddenly. He pulled out a rose and laid it there before the grave just as Hendrik had with his flowers. "Just as I do for you." The knight noticed how his voice had changed. "It's hard to believe that circumstances can pull two people so far apart."

"Do I... know you?" Hendrik asked. The man was certain that he had heard this voice before, years ago. It was odd, how familiar the voice was when he stopped using those strange speech patterns picked up from those always on the stage.

"If you do not, then perhaps I should be on my way and allow you to grieve," Sylvando answered. He bowed his head before the grave. "I will not forget him either, if that makes it any easier for you."

"When the subject has wounded you with powerful black magics, I imagine it would be incredibly difficult for you to forget him," Hendrik answered.

"Mmm, true. There was plenty of pain to go around at Jasper's hand, and not just for me," the entertainer said, standing back up. "Even so, you grieve."

"He... he was not always... heartless."

Sylvando turned away from the faceless grave. "No one said he was," he replied quietly. "Certainly not me." He wondered how his father would take the news, hearing that one of the best students to come from his training - one of the few ever named as a prodigy by Don Rodrigo himself - had become so enamored with evil. This young man showed immense talent with a weapon, but he was incredibly studious, always searching for more knowledge in textbooks. It was impossible to pry Jasper away from the Puerto Valor library on days where there was no weapon training. "Buenas noches, sweetie~" With a quick movement, it seemed as if Sylvando had completely vanished.

Hendrik stood up, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the shield-shaped pendant. He hestitated before he eventually placed it there on the gravestone. "I cannot carry your crest, Japser. It weighs too heavily upon me," he said. "But know this. I will carry the burden of defending kingdom and crown for the both of us. I make this promise to you. The same way I believe you would do for me, would I have taken your path." Even though tears began to burn his eyes, he could not allow them to fall. How his heart ached. Hendrik, since his childhood days, had always been accompanied by Japser. They shared every aspect of their lives. They really were the Twin Headed Eagle on the Heliodorian crest. He turned away from the grave. "Goodbye, my friend." As he walked away, he mouthed a few words that be could not bear to have anyone hear.

 _I loved you, Jasper._

* * *

Erik had waited there so long he had fallen asleep in the corner of the hall right next to the room the Luminary had locked himself in. Eventually, when he heard the clicks of the door, he brought himself to an unable stand. Lucien opened the door, and apologized for having shut the thief out like that.

"No," Erik said, shaking his head. "I didn't take it that way. But everyone else in the team, they were really worried."

Lucien nodded as he went back to his bed. It seemed as if he hadn't slept at all. He motioned for Erik to take the other bed. He didn't mean to keep his friend from getting any sleep. That wasn't nice to do.

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

The Luminary forced himself to yawn. Clearly, he did not want to talk about it at all. The hero had all ready pulled a blanket around him the same way he had ever since he was a child living back in Cobblestone. Erik took the sign, allowing himself to yawn just as loudly, and he promptly fell asleep simply out of exhaustion. When Lucien heard the snoring of Erik, he sat back up. He didn't want to bother Erik's sleep, so he carefully crept out of their room and began to head down the stairs. There always was someone up this late in Heliodor's center square. Maybe he should take another quest. Yet another one. Fulfill another request, keep moving, keep battling, anything to keep him from seeing visions, from hearing the desperate cries of his party members as they saw Veronica's final struggles to keep them all alive...

As he started to open the front door of the inn, Sylvando stood there, with his hands on his hips.

"And just where are you going, honey?" Sylvando asked. "A hero like you needs his beauty sleep!"

Lucien only averted his gaze, determined to go regardless.

"...I don't want to pry, but you need to talk to someone about whatever it is you have trapped in that pretty little head of yours. I don't want you hurting yourself. I've seen enough of it to last a lifetime."

The Luminary instead turned around and headed back up stairs quickly. Sylvando followed him, of course. He went back to knock on Rab's door to ask for some help. After exchanging a few lines, Rab came to his grandson's beside and chanted a few words, causing him to slip into a deep sleep.

"I apologize about that," Sylvando whispered.

"No, laddie. I've had to use me magic like this before a few times on a certain wee lassie a time or two. Think nothin' of it," Rab replied just as quietly as he headed back to bed. "If anything, I hope he get some respite... the weight of the world is not an easy carry. We've all seen as much as he has on this journey. It's almost amazin' that we aren't lost in our pain as he is, now isn't it?"

"Mmm," Sylvando agreed as he went his way back to his room. The full moon still hung overhead, and he couldn't get any of what happened tonight out of his mind. Seeing both Hendrik and Lucien fight with their inner demons in silence like that was unbearable. They were both much more beautiful and better suited for taking care of their tasks when they wore genuine smiles on their faces. He began to slide his tights off slowly, staring up at the moon above. Even if they were able to sleep, through magic or just sheer determination, Sylvando did not believe he would be getting any sleep that night.


	2. Chapter 2

For Forever

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Quest XI!

Notes: You know, this is the first fic I've ever written where I'm not shipping my main crush with my OC. I mean. What. THIS IS WEIRD.

Warnings: Same warnings apply.

Massive Story Spoilers. You have Been Warned.

FIC START!

-Part Two-

It was an eventful day yet again, and by the end of it, Sir Hendrik of Heliodor had sworn to protect the Luminary. While Lucien heard the echoes of Hendrik's voice saying the exact same thing in the Last Bastion before, here it happened while standing in the throne room of Heliodor Castle. The exact same promise said before, to boot. Of course, he knew of Hendrik's valor. He had seen it first hand, looking after the defenseless after the world tree had crumbled, turning the First Forest into naught much but a crater. How he had once been a knight, now just a man working to lead the survivors of a collapsed society. Lucien was happy to have the knight once again in his company, and the group set out in the direction of Gallopolis to investigate the falling Erdwin's Lantern. The ever dark globe swirled with evil tentacles that threatened to touch all manners of the skies.

"Lucien," Serena's voice said almost out of nowhere as they reached the Emerald Coast. The hero turned to look at her, cocking his head to the side just a bit with a quiet inquiry as to what was wrong. The wind picked up, making it incredibly difficult to find footing. "Should we continue on this path now, with the weather having gone bad like this?"

"It's not completely dangerous just yet," Jade said, but they all could see her brow furrow upwards. She was worried about it herself.

"We might not make it to Gallopolis in this state," Erik added, scratching the back of his neck.

"You lot showin' weakness now, after all we've gone through?" Rab asked, shrugging.

"The old man is right," Veronica agreed. "We can make it to Gallopolis with no problem with Sylvando's boat!"

Sylvando had been distracted for a moment as the harsh weather blew about his beautiful costume. He picked everything up that had fallen off and decided to sew it all back together once they made camp somewhere. When he stood back up with a pile of feathers in his hand, he said, "Oh, honey, I don't think it's a good idea to sail with the winds this harsh."

"What do you know of sailing, minstrel?" Hendrik asked, almost disgusted with Sylvando's distraction over something so frivolous as his circus costume.

"Oh, darling, I grew up around ships as much as you did around espadas, hm," Sylvando replied, putting all of his feathers away into his pockets, cluttering up his personal inventory. "Lucien, be a dear and make camp here on the coast."

Erik shrugged. "I don't like the idea of making the world wait even longer, but we may not have much of a choice."

With the storm having grown this bad this fast, the group set up a few tents in the area safe from the monsters around the campfire. It was difficult to keep the fire going to cook anything, so they didn't really get the chance to eat. The sleeping arrangements were the same as at the hotel. The Luminary shared a cot with his first ever companion, Erik. The twins shared a cot between themselves. Rab and Jade were most comfortable being close with each other after so many years together. And while Sylvando was used to rooming alone while traveling with this group so far, now he had Hendrik to deal with.

Hendrik's half of the tent was kept tidy. Everything had a place. His armor bag, his personal item bag, his current equipment that was uncomfortable to sleep in were all neat and orderly. Sylvando's half of the tent was messy and full of everything from his weaponry to the feathers that fell off of his clothing just earlier. He fumbled around his things as Hendrik pulled out a well-worn leather bound book and propped himself up on a makeshift pillow. Sylvando tripped a few times looking for his needle and thread before he sat down on his cot, directly across from his new room mate. He looped the thread through the needle and began making delicate stitches to attach the feathers. Then he made much stronger stitches to attach them more permanently.

As he kept reading, Hendrik felt his eyelids become heavier. But he didn't want to put it down.

"Hey, darling, you may want to put your book away and get some shut eye," Sylvando called to him.

"Oh, leave me be," Hendrik grumbled, turning another page. "You wouldn't understand why-"

"Was that Jasper's book?" Sylvando asked. He held his costume up away from his face to get a good look at the feathers and make sure the placement was correct.

"Why do you know so much about him?" Hendrik answered with another question before marking the spot in his book. "Do you have some sort of history?"

"Something like that," Sylvando replied, smiling right at him. He seemed happy enough with his outfit, folding it up nicely to put it in his equipment bag. "The cutie was an avid reader even as a child."

Hendrik sat up just a bit, looking at Sylvando's face. When the minstrel blew out the candle between their cots, the only light that came into the tent was from outside. He couldn't help but recognize that face from somewhere, like from a dream forgotten, or a memory misplaced. He had seen that exact face shape in low light before. But he couldn't remember where it was from!

Was he really going to be that stubborn about going to sleep? Sylvando reached for his flute, playing a gentle lullaby. The notes seemed to dance about the room the same way Sylvando himself would be if he were on stage. Holding the intended audience captive and finishing with an intented reaction. By the time he was done with his song, Hendrik had begun snoring. The book he was holding fell out of his hands, even though the knight had clung to it until he had lost consciousness completely. Out of curiosity, Sylvando picked it up and let out a little gasp.

"Oh!" he exclaimed quietly. "This is...?" He had read this very book when he was little, he was sure of it. He would never mistake that cover. It shared a similar design to that of the Magic Key that had taken over the town of Phenom Nohn. It was by an ancient sorcerer or... someone of that nature? Sylvando did not understand it entirely when he read it as a child. Though, some things seemed a bit strange. There were writings all through the pages, highlighting certain things. Some words were circled, and others crossed out with corrections around them. "Jasper," he said scoldingly as if his old classmate were there in the tent with them. "Were you _looking_ for evil in the first place, honey?"

He put the book down next to Hendrik, smiling as he watched the lavender-haired man snore deeply. He plopped down on his own cot, doing his best to get comfortable. It wasn't easy, with the memories of learning swordplay out in his Papi's courtyard. Swearing oaths in the beautiful gardens. Sneaking off to the casino and being punished by scrubbing the bright white stone that made up the town of Puerto Valor. Sylvando took in a deep breath, just listening to Hendrik's snores.

"Sweet dreams, darling~"

* * *

The next morning, Hendrik was the first to wake. He lifted the flap carefully, noticing that the storm from last night had ended. He could still see the stars in the sky, and Erdwin's star in the distance over Gallopolis. Hendrik let out a few small yawns while he pulled his armor back on and equipped his weaponry and accessories, doing what he could to keep himself from waking anyone else with his noise. He started another fire in the ring of stones in the center of camp to warm up the stew from last night for breakfast. Dawn would soon crack. He was used to waking up this early. When he closed his eyes, he could easily feel those training days in Puerto Valor. He always woke before Jasper or any of the other trainees. He would often be teased by Don Rodrigo's son, but he did his best to blow it off, trying to not let it get to him. He chuckled a few times as he thought about it as the cool breeze from the nearby coast brushed his lavender hair off of his shoulders.

"Well, if it isn't the most diligent of the young squires," laughed a voice behind him.

Hendrik turned around, finding the man responsible for training all of the young squires of Heliodor in his childhood. "Sir!" he immediately gave the salute he'd been giving all the figures of authority in his life as long as he could remember.

"Haha. It is good to see you again, Hendrik."

"While it has been what seems like a lifetime since I've seen you, and I am more than happy to greet you this morning, I don't understand why you're here, Don Rodrigo..." the knight said honestly.

Don Rodrigo seemed confused by this greeting for just a split second, and then he nodded. "Is that the form I've taken for you?" he asked, lifting one of his hands. Suddenly the two of them were standing in what seemed like an endless field of flowers. There was naught but a cottage in the distance, and the weather had completely changed to party cloudy with the sun shining through to illuminate the entire area. "Perhaps... he would be who you are the most comfortable speaking to, no?" He then smiled again before a magical aura surrounded him and there was someone completely different standing where Don Rodrigo had been standing. This time, a figure clad in bright white armor with long blonde hair that extended almost down to his feet. "Yet another one you miss in these troubled times, I assume. Would you like to come in to rest, my friend?"

"J-Jasper...!" Hendrik gasped, shaking his head. With the agility of a Metal King Slime, all the feelings he had laid at the grave of his departed beloved flooded back to his mind and his heart, and it was hard to hold back. "H-how are you-"

"I am not the Don," Jasper's voice said. "And I am not Jasper. I am what you humans have called the Seer over the centuries. I tend to take the form of someone the one I approach needs to see. There are plenty I have given guidance or closure to this way. And you... while you are resolved to fight alongside the Luminary, and all are aware of your valor... you do not seem to be. Why is that, I wonder?"

Hendrik nodded. "I saw the Don as someone to teach me when I felt lost. I admired him and his adherence to the knight's code. I have always wished to be as he was."

"Mmm. And of this form I take now?"

"I... Jasper..." blush broke out across his face. "He was my brother in arms, nearly my brother off the battlefield."

"You loved him." The Seer answered, allowing Jasper's form to fade away and taking on another form. That of a lovely woman with sun-kissed skin, wearing the garb of a fortune teller he had seen in Heliodor. "Perhaps I should address you in a way that would not provoke such emotion. I come to you to give you this." She reached into her dress pocket to pull out an envelope. "I am sure it will help you put aside your doubts."

Hendrik took the envelope and started to pull it open, but the Seer stopped him. "How can this help me if I do not read it?"

"I know this makes no sense now, but you will know when it is time to read it," the Seer answered. "I will give you this prophecy. Follow the Luminary's steps. You will come to a place very soon that will bring you back to your childhood. There, you will climb up a set of stairs in the church. In that moment you stand at the top of those stairs, you will have your answers. This letter will aid in that. Do not read it before, or you will be lost in your inner despair." She motioned toward the cottage again. "But, before you go, would you like to come in and rest? Have a warm cup of tea?"

"No, thank you," Hendrik said, putting the letter in his pocket. While he was burning to read it, he couldn't stand the idea of being lost in this feeling for the rest of his life. "I should return to the Luminary's side. I am sworn to be his shield."

"That may be so, but you are not a shield yourself, Hendrik. You are human as much as those you serve," the Seer said softly. "Go on, then."

As he turned to leave, he noticed that there didn't seem to be a way back. There was nothing but the field of flowers surrounding them, save a stream that ran right next to the cottage in the distance.

"Ah, forgive me," the seer mused, snapping her fingers.

Hendrik fell back into the flowerbed, his eyes closing and his consciousness falling away from him quicker than he could realize what was going on. The petals flew up around him, and when he opened his eyes he found a pair of eyes staring straight down into his own.

"Ah, you had me worried, darling!"

Oh. It was Sylvando. _Fantastic._ Hendrik took a deep breath.

"Everyone's been wondering why you weren't waking up, honey," Sylvando continued, putting his hand on Hendrik's forehead as if to check for a fever. "Have you come down with a sickness, because simply that will not do!"

"I am not ill," Hendrik said sternly, pushing Sylvando's hand away.

"You could have fooled me. What with your uncomfortable moaning in your sleep, darling."

"I was-"

"Not that I blame you, dear," Sylvando said, gathering up all of his things. Apparently, everyone else in the party was prepared to set out for the day's adventure. "Ever since that dreadful star started hanging over the world, no one has been able to get any good sleep... And being a creature that thrives on beauty sleep, it's been absolutely terrible for me!"

Hendrik hurriedly pulled all of his things together and equipped himself for the upcoming battles. "What of the rest of the party?"

"The other dears wouldn't be caught complaining, but if you just look at their faces, you can see it... Their nightmares reflect in their eyes."

This reminded Hendrik of something else that happened when he was a child. One night, when all he could see in his dreams was the fall of his homeland of Zwaardrust, one of his classmates came into the room he shared with Jasper. He had screamed out, trying to hide from the violence he saw in his nightmares. While Jasper didn't react to it at all, Don Rodrigo's prodigal son Noberto had come to comfort him. Hendrik wailed in a way he hadn't done since that very night, echoing through the barracks chambers. "I did not realize you were so sensitive to these things," Hendrik said. He was ready to go. All they had to do was gather up their tent.

"I have to take everything into consideration if I am going to be the one to bring smiles to everyone's faces," Sylvando said cheerfully, "That is my promise. Everyone on this world will smile if I am to have anything to say about it! Even you, darling."

"...just what are you implying?" Hendrik grunted.

"That I will find a way to bring a genuine smile out of you yet, honey! You've always been such a stick in the mud, but one day, somehow... that's going to change."

"I highly doubt it will be that act you put on when you wear those gaudy feathers."

"If you think that is the only way I've brought smiles into the world, you are completely mistaken, honey." Sylvando walked up to Hendrik, suddenly leaning onto his shoulder. "As comrades in arms, it is my personal duty to keep you all in good spirits. Best way to help the Luminary is to make sure that he can focus on the world, not on us, you know. That's why I bought a little cake for Serena without her knowing to give it to her next time I see her sad, that's why I fixed the seam on one of Erik's coats when he was sleeping, and that's why I played a lullaby for you when you didn't seem able to sleep."

Hendrik stepped away from Sylvando, heading out of the tent. He was greeted with well-meaning, but worried good mornings from everyone around the camp. He assured everyone that he was doing all right, and that he was more than ready for the battle ahead. Sylvando came out of the tent and magically turned it from the tent that two men shared overnight to a pocket sized item to keep in the Important Items inventory along with the rest of the tents.

"Where to, my loves?" Sylvando asked.

"Gallopolis!" Veronica and Serena answered at the same time.

"Right," Hendrik nodded, looking over at the coast. "Err. Sylvando?"

"What is it, sweetheart?" Sylvando asked. "Do you need something from me?"

"I believe the sisters spoke yesterday of a ship," Hendrik said, pointing at the dock. "Pray tell exactly where is this Vessel of yours?"

Rab sighed. "We can still get there."

"We should make for the Door of Departure instead, then," Erik said.

Hendrik couldn't help but think about when he was chasing after those two for King Carnelian. He couldn't hide how ashamed he was of his previous actions, even if he was given orders by a possessed king. And he knew that Lucien and Erik were thinking about it, too.

"Gallopolis?" Sylvando squealed. "That is exactly where I met all of you and decided to become one of your act. It'll be nostalgic, why, almost romantic!"

"It wasn't that long ago," Veronica answered, rolling her eyes. "Seriously. How can you be nostalgic for something that didn't even happen a year ago?"

"It feels like it's been a lifetime," Sylvando explained. "I can't wait to put on another show for you!"

"I don't think we'll have time for that, laddie," Rab warned him. "Much as I'd like to see it and the lovely girls you'd be using as your assistants, heh."

"There he goes again," Jade shrugged.

The group was full of laughter and contemplation as they set off from the Emerald Coast campsite to their next destination.


	3. Chapter 3

For Forever

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Quest XI!

Notes: Honestly, I don't remember how a conversation in this part was supposed to go, so I'm kinda winging it? There's nowhere I can go online to get the script yet, so... now the Seer has... more of a sense of humor. Laughing at my inability to remember word for word how it went.

Warnings: I can't think of anything to add.

 **Massive Story Spoilers. You have been warned.**

FIC START!

-Part Three-

As the group headed towards the narrow passage leading out to the field where the Door to Departure stood, Lucien turned to the sea one last time. Each of his party members looked at him with concern or comfort, but they didn't say anything to him. His eyes, though they reflected sorrow he refused to speak of, were fixated out on the shifting water. It was the journey of the Luminary, after all. They weren't supposed to question the man, only support him as he made his decisions for the betterment of the world.

Eventually, Rab broke the silence. "What is it, laddie? Do you see something?"

Lucien stepped away from his grandfather, heading back towards the shore. The monsters that frolicked in the waving blades of grass along the coast avoided him entirely. He walked on alone until he was standing on the soft sand. All the spirits that he'd been seeing his entire life, exponentially more often after leaving the village of Cobblestone for the first time, were gathering around the dock. He heard the echoes of the Time Keeper in the Land of Lost time in his mind as he watched them all gather about.

"Lucien, what's wrong?" Jade called after him. "Aren't we going to Gallopolis?"

He stared at the building on the dock and the fisherman that had saved him after he had spent time as a fish, but he didn't know if the fisherman remembered him or not. Lucien sighed, apologizing to his party for worrying them.

"You've been weird for a while," Erik said. "When are you going to tell us what's wrong?"

"Maybe when you tell us what's wrong with you," Serena nudged him.

"Hey, n-nothing's wrong with me!" Erik quickly stepped away from her.

"Oh, sweetie," Sylvando said, coming around to use his hand and bring Lucien's chin up. "I know you bear the weight of the world on your precious little shoulders, but it's never seemed to drag you down this much. Come now, tell Sylv all about your heartache, and I'll make it all better."

Lucien shook his head, taking a step back away from Sylvando. He reassured everyone that he was fine.

Hendrik wondered what would have drawn the Luminary to the dock. There was no boat here. They decided to head to the Door of Departure. This seemed like a dead end. Was the young man scared of something? Clearly, something bothered him, but Hendrik couldn't exactly ascertain what it was. "Pardon me," he said. "If I may ask, Luminary, what are we doing here?"

"Don't be such a drab," Sylvando said, glaring at Hendrik. "He needs time to think before we set off. Isn't that right, darling?"

The knight could have given that minstrel a face full of gauntlet, but decided to keep his composure. The world was in danger! There was much more to do if they were to set the world right. What could have Lucien so distracted? "I only ask because I was under the impression that we had decided upon our next destination all ready."

"We'll get there when we get there," Rab said, trying to soothe his grandson. "If the Luminary's heart and mind aren't in it, then we can't exactly force it to be. Y'got to understand, Hendrik, that he hasn't had the emotional training you have." He looked up at Lucien, noticing his eyes on the sea. "I know, laddie, you'd have liked to take the ship, but we don't have one available right now. Even if Sylvando sent a letter to his ship-steerin' frien', it wouldn't be here for a while. Let's do what we can, yeah?"

As Lucien turned away from the dock, he saw someone else not in the party standing there. "You are looking for a ship, but I believe you can do one better."

The entire group turned around to see Mordegon standing there. Everyone reached for their weaponry immediately.

"Care to explain why I always take on the worst form the first time I come to someone?" he asked, chuckling at his innate bad luck as he used magic that Hendrik recognized from the Seer. Mordegon's form faded away to reveal the same fortune teller he saw before. "I can't have all of you on edge like that..."

Lucien's face contorted into one of absolute confusion for a moment, but eventually he accepted what was before him. This world was full of such mystery that he couldn't expect to understand everything that he would see over the course of his journey.

"Luminary," the Seer said, taking his hand. "Your predecessor had a way to fly, which I believe is what you need right now."

That made Lucien think about it for a moment. He had ridden on the great sky whale Cetacea before he had crossed into this timeline. That was how he got to the Land of Lost Time in the first place.

"I knew I'd read legends about a flying contraption used by Erdwin," Rab said confidently.

"Contraption?" the seer mused. "What a choice of words. I daresay She'd not like that title."

"She?" Veronica demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"You will see," the seer answered, reaching her hands out to the hero. "You might need this." Her left hand landed on his forehead and visions of all the places he'd been on through the course of his adventure since he set out from Cobblestone came to his memory. Each place was vivid as if he was standing there. "Do you feel it?"

Lucien felt something below his feet. He'd known this power before. The winds themselves could carry him across the world in an instant. He nodded.

"Use this to go to the landing. You remember it now, Luminary?" the seer said. "And from there, you should meet with the Watchers. If anyone knows how to crack Erdwin's star open, they'd be the one to lead you to it."

"Who are the Watchers?" Serena asked curiously.

"They watch things, obviously," Erik muttered.

"Ever the aides to Yggdrasil," the seer replied. "Go on, then."

Lucien imagined the place he wanted to go in his mind. The Luminary's Landing. It stood high up, at the highest point of a mountain. He could see the stone plate on the ground with the Luminary's brand, and the pillars that surrounded it. And when he made his decision to go there, his body was lifted off the ground for a few seconds before becoming swept up in a whirlwind of magic.


End file.
